Swallows and Amazons

Previewed 15 December 2011, Opened 19 December 2011, Closed 14 January 2012 at the Vaudeville Theatre in London

The acclaimed 2010 Bristol Old Vic production of Swallows and Amazons in London for a strictly limited Christmas season.

All aboard The Swallow! Follow Captain John and his able crew as they set sail to Wildcat Island on an exotic adventure to encounter savages, capture dastardly pirates and defeat mortal enemies. An action-packed musical adventure for the whole family, Swallows and Amazons is a story of an idyllic era, of endless summer evenings and the beauty of youthful imagination.

The cast for Swallows and Amazons in London features Celia Adams as 'Nancy', Akiya Henry as 'Titty', Richard Holt as 'John', Katie Moore as 'Susan', Sophie Waller as 'Peggy' and Stewart Wright as 'Roger'. This new musical play is written by Helen Edmundson with songs by Neil Hannon, based on the book by Arthur Ransome. It is directed by Tom Morris with designs by Robert Innes Hopkins. Presented in London by The Children's Touring Partnership in association with The National Theatre, this production was originally seen at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre on December 2010. Most suitable for children six years and older.

"Helen Edmundson's script, helped cheerily along with music and songs by Neil Hannon, is faithful to the narrative of Arthur Ransome's first book - complete with technical detail on sailing as well as jolly japes and vivid childish drama. But the bliss of the show is the low-tech but magical way that Morris and designer Robert Innes Hopkins put the whole timber-shivering shebang on stage, with tricks such as turning a feather duster and a pair of pliers into a parrot... it's no accident that Morris co-directed the hit puppet-play War Horse... The rip-roaring finale left me with the mixture of envy and delirium I always felt when I read the books." The Daily Express

"This musical play by the writer Helen Edmundson and the songwriter Neil Hannon (aka, the Divine Comedy) went down so well when it opened at the Bristol Old Vic last Christmas that it's now docked in the West End briefly before embarking on a tour. And what a wonderful piece of theatre it is. As the adults playing these 7 to 12-year-olds stride around in their knee-length shorts preparing for their island jaunt, you melt - because they're singing a song about facing the unknown, expressed in lines about packing the corned beef. And by the time they have set sail in Swallow , you can't help but climb on board... So it's a thoroughly entertaining, beautifully balanced show for all ages: sincere but not strait-laced, playful but not facetious. Maybe 85 million readers aren't wrong after all." The Times

"The best Christmas shows entertain across the generations while keeping their imaginative standards sky high. You would expect nothing less from Tom Morris, the inspired director of War Horse and Coram Boy, and you get it in spades in his staging of Arthur Ransome's classic Thirties novel Swallows And Amazons... Morris's staging brilliantly encourages the audience to use their imaginations. He provides the framework - quite literally - with wooden outlines of picture frames and the prow of a boat and its sails, leaving us to fill in the rest. Less is always more." The Mail on Sunday

Swallows and Amazons in London at the Vaudeville Theatre previewed from 15 December 2011, opened on 19 December 2011 and closed on 14 January 2012.